Reply to: Netbooks & cheap laptops

[minestrone]

I got a cheap as dirt 100 quid android tablet the other week. Once you mod the settings it runs very well.

[gingerjedi]

Most netbooks now come with Windows 7 Starter which is a tulip operating system.

However to be fair to the manufacturers lots of the problem is caused by Microsoft insisting that for their device to be called a "netbook" it can only be sold with 1GB of RAM. This causes them to be slow and often have crashing problems.

This means if you get one you immediately have to upgrade it to 2GB of memory or change the operating system on it.

Anyway if the the device is being used for photo editing then you are better of getting a laptop.

I'm running W7 Ultimate on a 5 year old Dell D610 with 1Gb and it's never crashed on me, it was running on 512Mb until I bought a bit of RAM from eBay for £2.90, I don't like spending money on defunct kit.

[PAH]

Netbooks are ok for casual surfing on the couch, if you can put up with the small screens. A lot easier to use than a tablet if you need to use the keyboard for any length of time over a couple of seconds.

I prefer a 13" laptop with the battery removed as it's always plugged into the mains at home or in hotels anyway, so almost as light as a netbook but a lot more capable. Even has a dvd if I want to watch any movies while working away.

[d000hg]

How can MS dictate the name used by the vendor? Do you mean they will not allow an OEM license in this situation?

I'm sure I've seen 2GB netbooks advertised but perhaps they were marketed as ultra-portable laptops.

[SueEllen]

* by Intel (if using their Atom chip) and by Windows (if using their XP, leading some vendors (e.g. HP) to use Vista instead, on a 1gb netbook with a granny-slow cpu )

Most netbooks now come with Windows 7 Starter which is a tulip operating system.

However to be fair to the manufacturers lots of the problem is caused by Microsoft insisting that for their device to be called a "netbook" it can only be sold with 1GB of RAM. This causes them to be slow and often have crashing problems.

This means if you get one you immediately have to upgrade it to 2GB of memory or change the operating system on it.

Anyway if the the device is being used for photo editing then you are better of getting a laptop.

[VectraMan]

Netbooks pre-dated smartphones and (current) tablets and really allowed people to access the web whilst away from home.

Depends on your definition of smartphone. I've just bought an Android phone, but I had a four year old Nokia 6650 that could access the web/email etc., but nobody today would refer to as a "smartphone". Was there really a time when netbooks were available but phones didn't have internet access? I think it happened the other way around.

Agreed that, with the increase in tablets, the role of the netbook is falling into question but I still think there is a role for a machine that allows you to quickly access the web for a quick browse/burst of information and only costs £100 - £120.

About what my Android phone cost. And that fits in my pocket.

If I'm at home or work, then quickly accessing the web isn't an issue. Like most people I take my phone everywhere, so if I'm out somewhere I'm going to use that. Nobody carries around a netbook wherever they go, and if it's a case of going somewhere where I need a PC I'll lug my man sized laptop.

I don't think they ever made sense, even if they had been £100-£120. You put up with a small phone screen because a phone is so small that it's no effort to carry everywhere. A netbook has neither the portability of a phone, nor the power or usability of a proper laptop.

But each to their own. On the train in the morning how many netbooks do you see? I don't remember seeing any - everyone* has 13"-15" laptops.

*Actually there is one guy I see regularly with an iPad. So far I've resisted the temptation to say "*cough*tosser*cough*" as I walk past him.

[NotAllThere]

I bought a netbook book for my wife to stop her nicking my laptop. Now my daughter has claimed it and the laptop has been re-annexed by my wife.

[Clippy]

Netbook screens are tulip for browsing or reading anything anyway.

The other day, permie Boss was showing us the Acer i3 15" laptop he's just bought for his wife for <£400. I was quite impressed, certainly not a brick like my old Dell but thin and light enough to really be portable. Netbooks were only for posers, and they don't even make sense for that now in the post iPad world.

A little unfair, I think.

Netbooks pre-dated smartphones and (current) tablets and really allowed people to access the web whilst away from home.

The original concept of a stripped down machine for a small price got stretched by the major manufacturers to enable them to charge more and increase their margins but also made consumers question buying one when they could buy a 15" machine for not much more.

Agreed that, with the increase in tablets, the role of the netbook is falling into question but I still think there is a role for a machine that allows you to quickly access the web for a quick browse/burst of information and only costs £100 - £120.

[VectraMan]

Netbooks used to be constrained to a maximum resolution of 1024x600* so if considering those check it's a newer specced one as 600 vertical pixels is tulip for browsing and other things, unless you like to scroll up and down lots.

Netbook screens are tulip for browsing or reading anything anyway.

The other day, permie Boss was showing us the Acer i3 15" laptop he's just bought for his wife for <£400. I was quite impressed, certainly not a brick like my old Dell but thin and light enough to really be portable. Netbooks were only for posers, and they don't even make sense for that now in the post iPad world.

[PAH]

Netbooks used to be constrained to a maximum resolution of 1024x600* so if considering those check it's a newer specced one as 600 vertical pixels is tulip for browsing and other things, unless you like to scroll up and down lots.


* by Intel (if using their Atom chip) and by Windows (if using their XP, leading some vendors (e.g. HP) to use Vista instead, on a 1gb netbook with a granny-slow cpu )

[Clippy]

Internet and office docs mostly. Perhaps a bit of photo editing. It is likely to get carried around and actually used as a portable though, which is why I'm not really looking at 15" ones.

In which case, perhaps a CULV based, 13"/14" laptop would be more appropriate.

Currys have some Samsungs on their eBay clearance shop which might fit the bill.

[doodab]

What will she be using it for? If its just surfing the web, then I would look into getting her a netbook.

Internet and office docs mostly. Perhaps a bit of photo editing. It is likely to get carried around and actually used as a portable though, which is why I'm not really looking at 15" ones.

[doodab]

Personally I'd rather have a warranty, laptops just die and they aren't as easy to fix as desktops.

You can get a dual core with W7 from eBuyer for £250, good enough for surfing the net and doing a bit office work.

I'm not seeing anything small and light on there at that price though, those are all 2.5kg+ 15.6" jobs.

Good point about the warranty, although TBH I am more inclined to trust a 2nd hand Lenovo than a cheap box that only comes with a 1 yr warranty anyway. I think they might even sell you a new warranty for a price.

[Clippy]

What will she be using it for? If its just surfing the web, then I would look into getting her a netbook.

In the last few weeks, there have been quite a few cheap ones that have come up on Hot UK Deals.

For example, a Samsung N150 for £110. Alternatively, Argos are currently selling a Sony VAIO M Series for£200.

[Fred Bloggs]

Personally I'd rather have a warranty, laptops just die and they aren't as easy to fix as desktops.

You can get a dual core with W7 from eBuyer for £250, good enough for surfing the net and doing a bit office work.

Indeed, I bought a 15.6" Asus with Win 7 64 bit and dual core processor for £239 recently.